Publisher's Weekly Review
Bestseller Meltzer's third near-future Culper Ring thriller (after 2013's The Fifth Assassin) opens with a great dramatic image: First Lady Shona Wallace finding a severed arm in the White House Rose Garden. This grim discovery leads President Orson Wallace to consult Beecher White, a member of the Ring, which was founded by George Washington to "protect the presidency" and at present consists of only six members. The two men have a complicated relationship: Beecher once saved Wallace's life, but also believes that the chief executive committed a violent crime as a college student. Beecher agrees to help Wallace when he learns that the dead man's hand was clutching a flattened penny that could have a link to the mysterious death, many years before, of Beecher's father, who was a mechanic in the Army. Fans of historical conspiracy fiction will find a lot to like, but readers should be prepared for thin characters and a wildly over-the-top plot. 10-city author tour. Agent: Jill Kneerim, Kneerim, Williams & Bloom Agency. (June) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Library Journal Review
Meltzer's third offering in his "Culper Ring" series (after The Inner Circle and The Fifth Assassin) is a taut political/conspiracy thriller. Beecher White, archivist and member of the secret Culper Ring, finds his search for the truth about his father's death converging with a plot to kill the president. The Culper Ring, originally created by George Washington as a covert spy operation during the Revolutionary War, exists to protect the presidency. Members are anonymous, thus preserving the ring's integrity. Beecher must pick his way through a minefield of relationships, never knowing whom to trust or fear as he seeks answers. Did his father die in an automobile accident as he was always told or was he murdered during a secret military experiment? And how does it relate to the severed arm found buried in the White House rose garden? VERDICT Readers will find it difficult to put this quick-paced page-turner down as they get pulled into the maze of deceit, intrigue, and conspiracy. Those who are new to the series should read the first two books. [See Prepub Alert, 12/15/14.]-Sandra Knowles, South Carolina State Lib., Columbia © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.